Ambrose is simply 'Wild' for Jonze pic

Empty

Lauren Ambrose is going into the wild, voicing one of the title roles in Spike Jonze's fantasy film "Where the Wild Things Are" for Warner Bros.

In the feature adaptation of Maurice Sendak's children's tale, Ambrose will play KW, one of the giant creatures in the land of the Wild Things. When a young boy named Max visits their strange world, KW and company turn him into their king.

Ambrose is replacing the previously cast Michelle Williams. According to a production source, the filmmakers enjoyed working with Williams, but her voice didn't match their original vision of how the Wild Thing should sound.

Warner Bros. is producing the Playtone/Wild Things production in association with Legendary Pictures and Village Roadshow. Jonze and Dave Eggers wrote the adapted screenplay. Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, Sendak, John Carls and Vincent Landay are producing the film, which will use real actors, computer animation and live-action puppeteering. The film is set for release in fall 2008.

Ambrose is starring in the Fox series "The Return of Jezebel James" and appears opposite Frank Langella in Roadside Attractions' drama "Starting Out in the Evening." During the summer, she played Juliet in the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park production of "Romeo and Juliet" in New York.